Envelope opener



May 25, 1954 f \L. A. DEICKEN ENVELQPE OPENER Filed March 18, 1952 l Il Ilya l H 14, 1 l, l i6 Ilf- ZZ laf 17 i2 3 ZZ 17 l2 F.

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Louis A. DEICKEN ATTORNEYS Patented May 25, 1954 UNITED STATES @BENT 10F F ICE s claims. 1

.An object of my invention is to provide'an envelope opener that is compact and in which the cutting blade is protected.

A further object of my invention is to provide an envelope opener in which only the thick- :ness of the paper forming the envelope, is cut,

envelope, the cut being disposed the desired dis- .tance from the envelope fold.

A further object of my invention is to provide an envelope cutter which is simple in construc- `tion and durable and eicient for the purpose intended.

, the groove Al.

Other objects and advantages will appear in `on the same scale;

Figure 3 is an end view of the device when looking in the direction ofthe arrows III-III of Figure 2, part of the device being shown in section;

Figure 4 is a transverse section taken .along the line IV--IV of Figure A5 and shows the device in' envelope cutting position; and

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 2but shows the device in envelope cutting position: and portions are shown in section in order to clarify the structure.

While I have shown only the preferred form of my invention, it should be understood that various changes or modifications may be made .within the scope of the appended claims with- `out departing fromthe spirit Yand scope ofthe invention.

In carrying out my invention, I provide a casing indicated generally at A and this casing may be made of any material desired, s uch as metal Vor plastic. The casing is preferably rectangular in shape and is made small enough to be held in one hand. Although I do not wish to be confined to any particular measurements, AI have Afound that the following dimensions make a casfingofLa desirable size: 1% inches flong, 7A; of an inch wide, and 3A; of an inch thick. The casing A has a groove Al that is designed to receivean edge of an envelope. In Figure 3 I show how the groove Al extends partially into the casing A from the side l of the casing. The groove has a top wall 2 and a bottom wall 3 when the device .is held in a horizontal position. The top Wall has a slot Il formed therein that communicates with In Figure 2 the slot '4 is shown as extending throughout the greater part of the length of the casing.

The-purpose of the slot 1i is to receive a cutting blade holder E. of the shapeshown in Figures 2 and 3. The holder is vwelded or otherwise secured to a resilienthandle indicated generally atC. One end of the handle is secured to the casing A bymeans of a bolt D that extends through an opening 5 in the casing, see Figure 2. The handle C has an opening 6 that is aligned with vvthe opening 5 so that the bolt D will pass therethrough. A nut 'i is threaded on thebolt and removably secures the handle to the casing. `The handle is of the shape shown in Figures =1 and 2.

The bladeholder B is U-shaped and it -is designed to slidably receive ablade E, see Figure 3. The blade has a Tfshaped head 8 that is removably received in the T-shaped portion 9 of a guide slot i!! that is `formed bythe sides/0f the blade holder. Figure 2 illustrates the 'length of the holder B and the blade E extends throughout the length of the blade holder B. When the resilient handle C isrin normal or raised position, the lowervend of the blade holder B as well as the cutting edge Il of the blade will be received in the slot 4, as shown iin'Figure 2. This construction makes the device foolproof so far as the blade bei-ng able to cut apersons hand yor any other portion of the body is concerned. The bottom wall 3 of the groove Al is vprovided with a recess l2 that extends throughout the length of the device and this recess is designed to receive the cutting edge Il of the blade when the resilient Vhandle C 'is fully depressed. The recess is deep enoughto prevent the cutting edge of the blade from'oontacting any-portion of the bottom wall 3 and therefore the -cutting edge cannot be dulled byv coming into contact with any portion of the casing.

One of the novel features ofthe invention is the depthgauge which is formed as a part-of the blade holder and limits the cutting edge Hof the ,blade to cut through one thcknessof .the paper forming theenvelope .that is to be opened. #I n AFigures 3.and..4, :I show fan envelopeF-.onralarge the blade.

cutting edge il scale and this envelope has an upper side I3 and a lower side lil, the lower side resting upon the bottom wall 3. The contents of the envelope is indicated at FI.

When the resilient handle C is depressed from the position shown in Figure 3 into that shown in Figure 4, the blade holder B will be moved down upon the top side I3 of the envelope. The holder has outwardly extending flanges or guards i at its lower edges and these are adapted to ride upon the outer surface of the envelope side I3. The cut ing edge il of the blade extends below the flanges l5 a distance which is sufficient for the blade to cut through a distance equal to only the thickness of the side i3. Figure 4 shows the edge l l actually penetrating the side I3, but not extending into the contents FI of the envelope.

Referring to Figure 5, I have illustrated how the envelope contents Fi may have a double thickness, such as at If the envelope E shown in Figure 5 is .moved to the left with respect to the casing A, and the resilient handle C is maintained in a `depressed position, the outwardly flanges lil will ride along the outer surface of the side i3 of the envelope and when the double thickness F2 of the envelope contents is encountered, the flanges or guards I5 will move the cutting blade so that it will ride clear of the double thickness envelope contents F2, and do no damage thereto. Figure 5 does illustrate the blade E as actually making a cut I6 in the envelope side i3 for opening the envelope.

also provide novel means for determining how far the cut l@ in the envelope will be disposed frorn the folded edge il of the envelope, see Figure ll. A U-shaped gauge member indicated generally at G a side I3 that is coextensive with the length of the casing A. The gauge G also has made ends i9 that are bent at right angles to the side i3 and are designed to frictionally engage with the end walls 20 of the casing. The ends i@ of the gauge have projections 2I that permit the ngers of the operator to grip them for slidably adjusting the side I8 of the gauge toward or away from the inner side 22 of the groove A! so as to determine the position the folded edge il of the envelope will occupy with respect to the cutting edge II of It will be seen from this that the gauge G can be adjusted for moving the folded edge il of the envelope nearer or further away from the cutting edge il of the blade. In Figure 4 the adjustment is such that the cut I6 in the envelope will parallel the folded edge Il and be positioned close to the envelope contents FI. 1t is possible to position the gauge so that the cutting edge il of the blade will open the envelope along the fold Il.

The clade holder B has greater height at its outer end than at its inner end, see Figure 5. The blade 'E has a shape somewhat the same as the blade holder. The purpose of this shape is to cause the cutting edge il of the blade to be entirely received within the confines of the slot 4 when the resilient handle C is in normal position. Figure 2 shows the handle C extending upwardly at an angle with respect to the casing A and this is its normal position,

When the resilient handle C is manually depressed as shown in Figure 5 in order to bring the of the blade against the envelope side I3, the'cutting edge will extend at an angle with respect to the plane of the side I3 of the envelope and this will result in the more ready cutting of the envelope as it is moved along the groove AI.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood.

Before using the device the gauge G is adjusted to the position desired. The device is then held in the hand, preferably in a position where the thumb will rest on the resilient handle C and the tips of the next three ngers of the same hand will rest against the under side of the casing. The envelope is held in the other hand and the folded edge I'I thereof is moved along the groove AI after the thumb has pressed the resilient handle for forcing the blade into cutting action with the envelope. The folded edge of the envelope contacts the side I8 of the gauge G. Relative movement between the envelope and the device will cause the blade to travel parallel to the folded edge il of the envelope and to make the cut It in the envelope. The guard I5 determines the depth of the cut and therefore the contents Fl cannot be damaged. This is true even though the contents is of double thickness for a portion of the length of the envelope as shown at F2 in Figure 5, The cut lil will extend from end to end of the envelope.

The device is so constructed that the cutting edge is protected, and the device is made so small that it can be readily carried in the pocket of the person using it. The cutting blade E can be renewed from time to time. The rest of the device will function over a longr period of time.

I claim:

1. An envelope opener comprising: a casing adapted to be held in one hand, and having a longitudinally-extending groove along one side designed to slidably receive an edge of an envelope that is to be opened; a resilient handle for holding a blade; the handle being carried by the casing; a blade removably carried by the handle; said handle being manually movable for extending the blade into the groove for cutting along an edge of the envelope that is moved in the groove, whereby the envelope will be opened; the resilient handle, when released, moving the blade away from the envelope; and a gauge mounted in the groove, and being adjustably secured to the casing for determining the distance between the edge of the envelope and the cut made by the blade.

2. In an envelope opener of the character described: a casing having a longitudinally-extending groove in one side thereof, and a slot in a top of the casing communicating with the groove; a resilient handle having one end thereof anchored to the top of the casing, and extending upwardly at an angle so that its other end is free and is normally spa-ced above the casing top; a blade operatively connected to the handle for up and down movement with and .by the handle; the blade having a straight sharp edge disposed for cutting an edge portion of an envelope or the like inserted into the groove, when the handle is depressed and the casing is drawn along the envelope for moving the sharp blade edge through the envelope for cutting purposes; the resilient handle having sufficient elastic power to return to a normal raised position wherein the sharp edge of the blade will be retracted into the confines of the slot walls and parallel the top of the casing when-the Amanual depressing force on the handle is removed to thereby protect this edge iof 5 the blade and leave the groove unobstructed by the blade; the length of the sharp edge of the blade being substantially coeXtensive With the slot in the top of the casing.

3. In an envelope opener: a casing having a groove extending along one side; a gauge having a portion extending throughout the length of the groove and against which an edge of an envelope is adapted to be slidably pressed; a blade movable into the groove for making a cut in the envelope paralleling the envelope edge that is being moved along the groove; and means for adjusting the gauge with respect to the blade for disposing the envelope edge the desired distance from the blade when the envelope contacts the gauge; whereby the cut in the envelope is made the desired distance from the edge of the envelope.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 673,375 Bayha May 7, 1901 2,215,216 Gits et al Sept. 17, 1940 2,428,490 Goughnour Oct. 7, 1947 

